Radial cylinder rotary compressor or motor



G. TACCONI March 6, 1956 RADIAL CYLINDER ROTARY COMPRESSOR OR MOTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 29, 1952 Fig -9M` ATTORNEY sA G. TACCONI March 6, 1956 RADIAL CYLINDER ROTARY COMPRESSOR OR MOTOR Filed July 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvENTpR 6U do Va cc oh L ela ATTORNEY 3,

RADIAL CYLINDER ROTARY COlVIPRESiSOR OR MOTOR Guido Tacconi, Florence, Italy l Application July 29, 1952, Serial No. 301,470 Claims priority, application-Italy January 29, 1952 2 Claims. (Cl. 14H-161) .tioned in an additional member rotating around a geometrical axis parallel to and displaced with respect tothe cylinder block axis, this block and this member are engaged by means of connecting rods or` crankshafts. The timing of the cylinders is obtained in the center by means of aconical member capable of small axial displacements with `respect to the seat located in the center of the cylinder block, so as automatically to adjust the seat along the conical surfaces, always keeping substantially constant the moment of friction, imparted to said conical member. The abovementioned automatism is attained by means of rollers and sloped surfaces co-acting between a stationary member and the conical one, in order to bring about the axial displacements of the latter, dependent upon the moment of friction, which tends to rotate the conical member. tend along predetermined arcs, are in correspondence with the passages located in the cylindrical block for the cylinder heads, and are provided in the conical member.

The specied unit may act either as a working machine (compressor, pump) or as an endothermic or exothermic driving machine.

A particularly advantageous use for the unit is for the actuation of an exothermic machine, characterized by the fact that lit comprises, positioned upon the same axis, the respective rotational shafts of at least one unit, as above described, and a compressor, advantageously made up of another of these same units, mutually coupled and provided with suitably different relative displacements, the first being designed to constitute the driving machine and the second to constitute a compressor for a iluid operating in a closed cycle. included in this closed cycle.v In this way a circulation of the iiuid, coming from the heat source designed for the drive of the engine, is established. This fluid is led t the cooler from the engine exhaust and is therefore picked up by the compressor, driven by the engine, so as to be compressed and to be sent back to the heat source, preferably including a heat exchanger. The residual mechanical energy is obtained from the same shaft of the two units, by actuating a heat transfer from the heat source to the cold portion, that is, by `bringing about a reduction of the heat level.

This invention will best be understood from the fol'- lowing specification and the hereunto appended drawings, which show diagrammatically embodiments of this invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l shows schematically an exothermie machine, comprising two coupled units;

Fig. 2 shows, in axial section, a radial cylinder unit;

Fig. 3 shows a cross section, taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 lshows a longitudinal section of the conical member of the timing gear;

Figs. 5 and 6 are sections, taken on the lines V-V and Vle-VI of Fig. 4, respectively.

Passages or ducts for the feed and exhaust, ex?

United, States PatentO ice As seen in Figs. 2 to 6, a unit according to the invention comprises a `multiple-piece casing 1, extending with two axially removed sleeves 2-2a and 3-3a respectively, that is with parallel but oset geometrical axes of symmetry. The sleeve 3-3a is provided with anges designed to form seats for two bearings 4 and 5, on which the shaft 6 is mounted. On this shaft, there is a seal unit, generally designed as 8, divided into two portions by a gearwheel 9, coaxial with the shaft 6, and which suitably forms a part of a lubricant gear pump, for instance, the second gear 10 of which isy driven by a gearwheel 11,

controlledrby the shaft 6. This shaft 6 carries, at the i is housed in the casing 1. Sixcylinders 17, in which as many respective pistons 18 slide, are located in said block 16 in this embodiment. These pistons 18 are provided with connecting rod-s 19which are engaged by pins 20, mounted at mutually equidi'stant positions on flanges 12b projecting inwardly 'from the cylindrical portion 12a of the disc 12, mounted on the shaft 6. On the disc 12 three connecting rods or goose-necks 22 are furthermore pivoted at 21. The end of the respective rods 22 are engaged by pins 23 in corresponding seats, located in the block 16; the connecting rods or goose-necks 22 have a distanceV between the centers equal to the displacement of there is a member 24Which forms a frusto-conical seat A coolant and a heat supply are (also see Fig. 4). The openings 25 for communication with thevcylinder'heads 17 lead into this frusto-conical seat. Ayconical member 26 is housed in this frustoconical seat, formed by the element 24. This conical member 26 is made slidable on two portions, of diierent diameter, 27a and 28 of a shaft 27, coaxial with the shaft 15, stationarily mounted on the end block 2a of the sleeve 2. The difference of diameter between 27 and 28 creates, in the inside 0f the conical member 26, a chamber 29, wherein a spring 30 ishoused. This spring 30, reacting on thev shoulder between 27a and 28, tend-s to push the conical member'26 towards the left side with respect to Figs. 2 and 4, that is, towards the conical seat. A sleeve 31, adjustable as to the axial position thereof and carry- 'ing two rollers 32, having axes perpendicular to that of the shaft 28, is mounted on said stationary shaft 28. These rollers 32 register with two V-shaped indentations 33, located on `the end edge of the smaller base of the conical member 26. An opening 34 extending between the conical surface (at the height of the openings 25) up to the inner chamber 29, is suitably located in the frustoconical -member 26. The inner chamber 29is in communication, lthrough holes 35, with the inner cavity of the stationary'shaft 27. Furthermore a groove 36 (always in registry with the openings 25) is formed in the conical member 26 and is extended along a predetermined arc on the conical surface. The groove 36 is in communication through a plurality of holes 37 with the gap 38 resulting between the stationary shaft 27 and the hollow one 15, this gap being in communication with an outwardly directed duct 39. c

The other elements of the device include suitable lubrif eating circuits, collecting means of the same, pick-up ducts waarna for leakage of fluid into the casing 1 and other necessary minor items.

The operation of1 the. unitis as follows, referring toiits utilization as a compressor. The iluidto be compressedA is `fed-in through the duct-39 and` reaches the groove 3:6,

from. which the uid is suckedy into the cylinders by the motion of thepistons, which-by the rotation of the unit according to the arrow shown. in Fig. 3,-are radially brought away, with respect to the cylinder block, from the lower position to the upper one. This is brought about by thefellectof the displacement of the axes between the rotational axisof the block 16 and the rotational axis` of the disc 12 carrying thepins 20. Along, the downward passage (see Fig. 3) of the pistons, these, alwaysdue to the electot' the axial offset, compress the fluid in the corresponding cylinders, exhausting it through the opening 34 into the chamber 29 and then through the holes 35 intotheinner cavity of the hollow shaft 27, which constitutes'the` delivery duct. The shaft 6 in this case operates a driving shaft, pulling, the block 16 by means of the connecting rods or goose-necks 22.

When the unit operatesv as an engine through a few appropriate changes of the amplitude of the groove. 36 of the opening 34 andin the actuation of the timing in general, the driving pressurized fluid is led fromv the duct made up. of the hollow shaft. 27, enters' into the cylinders through the opening 34, effecting a more or less prolonged expansion dependent upon the angular extension of the same opening 3ft-and then is exhausted through the groove 36 and the duct 39, the rotation in this case being opposite to that in the previous case. l A

In any event, the conical member 26, stressed by the spring 30, automatically adjusts, through its own slipping, the friction on the conical seat, always assuring a seal. ln fact, when thefriction between the conical surfaces increases. for any reason, the rotating block 16 tends to rotate. the conical member around the stationary shaft 272S, but then the stationary rollers 32, owing to the V-sloped surfaces 33, bring about a slight sliding of the member 26 (towards the rightside of the drawing) pulling it out of the seat 24 until the friction is brought back to thepredetermined value. The spring 30 and the action of the pressures of the fluids on the` member 26 are appropriately calculated and predetermined in order to ob tain its balance.

A particularly advantageous application of the above described unit is as follows (see Fig. l):

Two units, similar to those already described, andillustrated as M and C in Fig. l, are coupled byy means of shafts, corresponding to the shaft'6, a dynamo D or other machine (electrical or otherwiselis moreover designed to utilize the mechanicalV energy on the common shaft of the two units C and M, and is integralwith the shaft. The unit M, having the higher total capacity, i-s designed toA constitute the driving engine of the system and is supplied through the piping Si, leading from a heated fluid source, made up more especially of-a heat exchanger S; the exhaust of the engine M is carried through a duct 52 which leads to a cooler R where the uid is cooled and then decreasedV in its volumey and eventually condensed. From. theA cooler R, the fluid passing through the duct 53 arrives at the unit C, operating as a compressor, which impells the iluid` into the duct 54 feedingV the heat exchanger, which also is the same element as the source S', with the'uid.

The mechanical energy delivered by the driving engine M, utilizing the lowering of the heat level from Sto R, isl designed partially to drive the unit M-C, while the residual portion may be utilized by themachine D, for instance, made up of a dynamo or the like.

The above described embodiment mayv also be used when the differential of level of heat between the two sources S andR is.. restricted and may bebrought about by,a1so providing; a heat accumulaton in. the -circuithde signedto store the heat picked up from any suitable source and then returned during the operation ofthe closed cycle exothermic engine above described. As a source of heat, for instance, it is possible to use the sensitive heat at the exhaust of a burner, of a furnace, a boiler, a replace or other. The cooling action may be accomplished by thc use of a normal temperature water circulation heat exchanger or the like. The uid, which acts in the closed cycle, may be made up of air, steam or low temperature volatile liquids, such as ether, ammonia, carbon dioxide or any other substance in a gaseous phase or in a liquid and gaseous phase. In this case, the compressor Cmay be constituted by a unit as above described, or it may be a simple gear pump or the like. A suitable devicevdesigned to start the rotation of the moving members, if and when the pressure ofthe operating fluid is restricted, in

order to overcome the coeflicient of friction of astateof rest, may be provided.

The described unit being reversible and thus being in condition as to operate as an engine or as a compressor, may also be usedfor the actuation of an endothermic cycle, introducing heat,v by means of a burner, in the air ing block, a plurality of cylinders located in said rotatingI block, pistons sliding in said cylinders and connecting rods controlling said pistons, another element rotating upon an axis parallel and displaced` with respect to that of the rotating cylinder block, the driving connectingv rodsl of said pistons being engaged with said additionall rotating element, small connecting rods mutually enga'g? ing said rotating cylinder block and said second rotating element, in said' assembly, timing elements including a conical member, a conical seat located in said rotating cylinder block housing said member and provided with communicating,apertures towards the cylinders, a sta' tionaryvshaft coaxial with said rotating cylinder block and whereon said conical member is slidably tted, roll-1 ing members carried by one or said timing elements, sloping surfaces engaging said rolling elements and carried by another one of said timing elements, a resilient member interposed between said stationary shaft and saidconical member and coacting with said rolling members in order to determine the axial displacements of the latter accordingA to the moment of friction transmitted by the conical seat to the. conical member and which tends to rotate said conical member, feed and exhaust passages located in said conical Vmember and cooperating with said communicating apertures of the cylinders.

2. A radial cylinder rotation unit, according to clair n 1, wherein a ring is engaged to said stationary shaft and carries the rollers, and wherein a threaded nut is screwed on to said'stationary. shaft, in order to adjust the axial position of said ring;

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

